Interactive Investor

The Oil Man: Aminex, Solo, Gulfsands, Bahamas Petroleum

WTI $36.79 -$1.55, Brent $38.67 -93c, Diff $1.91 +65c, NG $1.96 n/c

That wait until 17 April is, as expected, becoming hard going for the industry bulls, while the bears can just sit around waiting for the next interview to hit the wires. On Friday it was the turn of the Saudi deputy crown prince to add his few bob's worth on Bloomberg, saying that their part in the freeze was conditional on all others agreeing - cue laughter all round.

It is still nearly a fortnight until the meeting - which, predictably, is on a Sunday - and plenty of opportunities to slip on strategically placed banana skins.

The Baker Hughes rig count on Friday should have helped; overall rigs were down 14 to 450 units, whilst oil were down 10 at 362 - getting to be almost more than a lifetime since we were this low.

Aminex/Solo

Aminex and Solo have completed the deal previously announced, whereby AEX sells 3.825% of the Kiliwani North Development Licence (KNDL) to Solo for $2.16 million (£1.51 million).

After this deal, Solo will have 10% of KNDL and the remaining contract expires. I have long held the view that this is an attractive asset and, with production imminent, I feel that it is good news for both companies.

I recently spent some time with Neil Ritson, who is without doubt an impressive oil man, and hope to come back with more from Jay as soon as is possible.

Sundry

Wood Group has announced that its contact with TAQA in the North Sea has been extended by two years, with three one-year extensions. The work serves five offshore assets and, although value is not mentioned, I suspect it is a useful hold.

San Leon has completed on its Mart acquisition; I am still to see the company, although they may have made a presentation on the deal.

More fun and games at Gulfsands, where the company is indicating that there is light at the end of the tunnel in Syria.

The way of communicating news at the company at the moment seems to be via Danny Fortson, but, if accurate, then there is to be a food-for-oil deal imminent - although I wouldn't be standing on one leg and holding my breath waiting for it.

Caza is the subject of a "going-private" transaction, what a surprise…

The deal offered by Talara is $0.00481 per share and they need 66% of the votes to succeed. Talara are voting in favour with their 95% - so that's a deal, then. I have let many people down on this one, as I genuinely thought they had a good portfolio of acreage that was sustainable through the downturn, but it wasn't to be.

Over at Bahamas Petroleum the implementation of the compensation revisions has been announced. The CEO is having his pay deferred by 90%, which will be paid back in cash and shares when a farm-out has been concluded. For the rest of the board, their fees are deferred by 50% and will be repaid in shares at the same time.

This is all about alignment with shareholders and extremely appropriate at the moment. The statement says that discussions continue with "potential strategic and funding partners", which is positive, as the cash in the balance sheet runs out second-half 2017 - by which time a well will have to have been underway…

And finally…

I took a bit of stick for not mentioning the T20 final on Friday; I would like to think that it was a premonition that we would snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but afraid not. A just result in a really good game that, a little while ago, we never thought we would be in.

The Formula One season has started well, apart from the ludicrous qualifying process. With Nico winning twice and Lewis struggling off the grid, it bodes well, and with Kimi in second and the Haas F1 team out of the blocks with Grosjean early, the stage is set…

And so to Leicester, where the Foxes won (again) and one-nil (again) to stretch their lead to seven points, with Spurs drawing against the HubCap Stealers.

The Gooners and the Noisy Neighbours won easily, but it's not in their gift just now.

The Hammers drew with the Eagles and got another awful reffing call and another wonder free kick from Payet, while the Red Devils stormed the Toffees, scoring from one of their two chances on target in the game.

At the other end of the table, it's beginning to look a bit black and white for the Magpies after they were seen off by the Canaries on Saturday. With the Maccams only drawing against the Baggies, the Northeast is looking a bit bleak; Villa crashed to Chelski - it could have been more.

Finally, it was the weekend for ending long standing records, as Barca went down in El Clasico to a Ronaldo goal and the Golden State Warriors ended the longest ever winning run at home in NBA history, being beaten by the Boston Celtics after 54 straight wins.

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.